


Appendix

by Herbrarian



Series: New Orders [21]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Research, Sources, inspirations, references, resources
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:16:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6612037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herbrarian/pseuds/Herbrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I am a librarian (and a dramaturg, but that's a conversation for a cup of coffee) and research is how I create. So, in the effort of honesty, my resources and inspirations for my writings:<br/>I started sticking these in the notes section of my series entry, but I ran out of characters.<br/>So, here they are, divided up into chapters. I'll keep adding to them as more things come across my plate (also, because it's easy to keep track of them here :) )</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Internet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Updated: 07/31/2016

The Dragon Age Wiki, <http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age_Wiki>  
Free, replete with knowledge, and all of the codexes. Oh, and if you are going there on a mobile device you must get the app. Normally, I hate apps, but it is a very useful with thoughtful layout and presentations and displays the entries really well.

The Dragon Age Wiki [Map of Thedas](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/File:ThedasMap.jpg) because, seriously, how else are you going to keep track of which way is North?

Someone has taken the time to transcribe the DA: I dialog, and it is a super useful. [Dragon Age Transcripts on Tumblr](http://dragonagetranscripts.tumblr.com/) is amazing and very accurate at working through different dialog choices. I find it super useful when I am exploring things the character _knows_ but perhaps we didn't do in my play through. It can still inform that headstory for the character.  
I am a Tumblr nube and lurker, but there is amazing stuff out there. Leave me a comment if you have something you use for a resource on Tumblr. TIA

  
16 Personalities, <http://www.16personalities.com/personality-types>  
I *love* Myers-Briggs personality tests, and I enjoy thinking about the characters personalities and thinking about what those weaknesses are as a way of creating story arcs.

I am really crap at chess. But with an online resource like [chessgames.com](http://www.chessgames.com/), I can wing it.  
The game that Cullen and Leliana play in [Opening Moves](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6100501/chapters/13983925) is [Henry L Terrie vs Emory Tate from the 2001 US Open](http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1193217).

John Donne, Songs and Sonnets at [Bartleby](http://www.bartleby.com/357/).

Mathias Kentrup's landscape pictures make me think I am looking at Ferelden. [You want to look at them, too.](http://mkentrup.de/index.html)  
The best part? If you're running Windows, you can make them your rotating [background screen](http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/impressions-from-schleswig-holstein-download-theme)

As I have mentioned elsewhere, I am a console player (PS4), so I can't speak to how [this mod functions ](http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonageinquisition/mods/620/?). But the screenshots give you an idea of what Blackwall looks like as Rainier. Good stuff.


	2. Books

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Updated 07/31/2016

_[Dragon Age, The World of Thedas](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/925626226)_  
Fleshes out all of the back world, plus it is fun to see how rich Gaider and Bioware made the world. The reference map in this book is linked elsewhere in my appendix in the DA Wiki.

_[Dragon Age, The World of Thedas, Volume 2](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/908450707)_  
A beautiful exploration/thematic game guide (read: doesn't tell you how to win, but why you care who wins) that explores backstories. I like to write Canon Compliant things, so this is a useful reference for me. I am not always _strictly_ canon compliant, but if you ever see anything that goes against what is canon and specifically what is in this book, let me know, I have explanations. :)

  
[Dark Horse Comics](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=dragon+age+comics+dark+horse&dblist=638&fq=ap%3A%22gaider%2C+david%22&qt=facet_ap%3A#%2528x0%253Abook%2Bx4%253Aprintbook%2529format)  
Working my way through them, they help flesh out the characters and their language for me; also: eye candy.

  
I am firmly of the opinion that, if Cassandra Pentaghast was in our world, she would be a huge fan of John Donne. I like the [Oxford edition of his collected works edited by John Carey](http://www.amazon.com/John-Donne-Oxford-Authors/dp/0192541803/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1459127741&sr=8-3&keywords=john+donne+oxford), but if you are just looking to read some of his Songs and Sonnets, you can find them in their entirety at [Bartleby](http://www.bartleby.com/357/), a truly great online resource.


	3. Music

[DA: Inquisition soundtrack](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P3FXNLA?ie=UTF8&keywords=inquisition%20soundtrack&qid=1457111818&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1) and the [Bard Songs](https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Inquisition-Elizaveta-Stoubis/dp/B00T131QVY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457111860&sr=8-1&keywords=inquisition+bard) (probably obviously)

[Theatro Lirico, Steven Stubbs, et al](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E0LB9U?keywords=theatro%20lirico&qid=1457111882&ref_=sr_1_sc_1&sr=8-1-spell)  
Great lute music, original compositions that feel Renaissance and modern simultaneously

[The King's Teacher (Le Maite du Roy): Works for Lute, Theorbo and Guitar by Robert de Visee, Vol. 1](http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Teacher-Maite-Roy-Theorbo/dp/B0001K63QY/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459128027&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=le+maitre+du+roy+eduardo+eguez)  
Compelling music that is just fluid enough to write to without ruining the mood of what I'm trying to create. Also lutes!

[Soundtrack to Pride and Prejudice (2005) composed by Dario Marianelli and performed by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet](http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Dario-Marianelli/dp/B000BEZQ0Y)  
Lyrical, flowing piano work that is designed to heighten the tension of relationship angst from the progenitor of some of our modern relationship tropes, Jane Austen herself.  
And, yes, heresy that it may be, there can only be Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy for me now.

[DA themed mixes from sheepandwolves on 8tracks.com](http://8tracks.com/sheepandwolves/mixes/1)  
Great stuff.


	4. Videos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Updated: 07/31/2016

I'm a console player, so I have limited screenshots. But I have a few You Tubers I rely on for cut scenes:

  
[Fluffy Ninja Llama-full romance lines](https://www.youtube.com/user/FluffyNinjaLlama/playlists?sort=dd&view=50&shelf_id=16)

[Jesse Cox-expedited playthroughs](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFx-KViPXIkHYMr7D1vCrLzimoVyQlmt-)

[Example of a courante.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_LqOvnQny4)

[Example of a galliard.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4MAt3eqtPU)


	5. Images

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last updated 03/24/2017

[](http://mkentrup.de/index.html)Mathias Kentrup's landscape pictures make me think I am looking at Ferelden. [You want to look at them, too.](http://mkentrup.de/index.html)  
The best part? If you're running Windows, you can make them your rotating [background screen](http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/impressions-from-schleswig-holstein-download-theme)

[Best Blackwall gif ever. Gerry Arthur on DeviantArt](http://gerryarthur.deviantart.com/art/Blackwall-gif-552989177)

[I imagine this as 'broken' Thom Rainier; super powerful profile. Greg R / Rummy Rumz on Art Station](https://www.artstation.com/artist/heimdallgazo)

[ olivegbg on DeviantArt](http://orig10.deviantart.net/05b5/f/2014/249/b/3/dragon_age_inquisition__blackwall_by_olivegbg-d7y4vcf.jpg)

So I imagine my Blackwall as a somewhat older man, a direct counterpoint to Cullen in many ways. I think this captures that in his face really well. There is a yoga studio around the corner from my house and I see men leave all the time whose faces tell me they are in their dotage, but their bodies are still remarkably powerful. Culturally, it's not an image we are used to, but one's body does not have to leave behind its prime once you turn forty.

[ Kenu on DeviantArt](http://pre08.deviantart.net/92bd/th/pre/f/2015/046/d/2/we_made_it_by_kenu-d8i7khb.jpg)

I love this image. It is everything in my head about their relationship, how they survive the Conclave, how they start the Inquisition, how they support each other.

[The Concept Art is just astounding](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7q57E9aqCDw/UsgD4Nkw2zI/AAAAAAAAJ64/D_3ddr5Y11k/s1600/Dragon+Age-+Inquisition-n2g-24-SCREENSHOTS.jpg), and I cannot find the original links on Bioware, but this is part of the art from a video that Bioware released to unveil the world back in 2014. I love everything about this image. It is entirely the inspiration for Chapter Three of None Of Us Have A Choice.


	6. Why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't like to put notes on my stories as I want them to stand on their own. If they can't do that, then I didn't get it quite right.  
> But, that doesn't mean each one doesn't have a purpose in my own head cannon. I really enjoy how other writers use their stories as a way to have a conversation with their readers, and I thought it would be fun to give it a try. So, spoiler alert, but--amusingly enough--spoiler alert for my own work.  
> Chapter last updated 03/25/2017

[Other Men's Wars](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6612421)

Blackwall is an incredibly rich character that gets little flesh in DA: I. If you are romancing him, you get more meat, but if you aren't (as my first, male, warrior dwarf playthrough was), then you just get the bizarre betrayal and ... you move on. My dwarf forgave him; my mage who was involved with him didn't. Why? Because I think there is a very primal horror to what he has done that a ladylove would not be able to process through in the amount  of time she is given. Throw that in with the Grey Warden hero worshiping (very much a thing for my Dorothea), and there was no way he isn't getting left in that jail.

However, she is supposed to love him; and she just leaves him. So why? Well, it's because he is an absolute shit. He is self-delusional to the point of destruction and he could take the Inquisition down with him just because he can't figure out how to accept his own past. He just walks off, after Adamant and if you ditched the Wardens (as I did), he just leaves this huge, fucking mess and goes off to try to deal with another huge, fucking mess he helped to create. Oh, and he does it after a night of great barn sex.

But, in the game we really start to fall in love with him (I saw one [DA confession](http://alldragonageconfessions.tumblr.com/) that read: " _Blackwall is a manly man burly big man beard sex of man smells like sexy pine musky scent sex and I love every inch and pixel of him."_ Yeah, that.). You have to be able to leave him (because no one has time to forgive someone with this little self awareness when you are trying to save the world...especially if Leliana is your spymistress; you already know she would have him killed) in that jail. 

So you do that by imagining the most self-serving, horrifying crime imaginable. In reality, Bioware imagined it for us; I just tried to give it a bit of flesh. 

Oh, and because I think he is a big, burly man, I totally think he works things through with sex. [lilith_morgana](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lilith_morgana/pseuds/lilith_morgana) is really the best with this in [Planetarium](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4347230). 

* * *

[In Peace, Vigilance; In Death, Sacrifice](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6822277)

The impetus for this one was my uncertainty of what would make Thom impersonate a Grey Warden for years. Gordon Blackwall had to be pretty remarkable in order for Thom Rainier, the man who turned down help from Ser Geoffroy de Bordelon at the Grand Tourney, to idolize him enough to escape as him. And I should clarify that I think it is an type of idolization that turns Rainier toward the Grey Wardens. This doesn't just make my own head cannon work better, I think we are firmly given this in the game ("I needed to believe I could be one of them."). He had to see the best they could offer and have it serve as a basis of why he would follow the Inquisition (serve in a group) and not simply stay on his own. The underlying idea for me in this story is how Thom discovers a need to belong that is not based solely in his own selfish needs.

As I started writing, in order to have it make sense, Warden Blackwall needed to have a bit of a mystique and not be an open book. The best way to get there I felt was the influence of someone from the outside that Blackwall could react against. That brought me Nicolas who was a very undemanding third character: practically a ride-along. This got me to explore how Blackwall defines what being a Warden is (helping the less powerful) for Thom and Blackwall's own journey to how he took the Grey. Amazingly enough, I had no idea he had killed his wife until I wrote it. Then, it just couldn't happen any other way.

Likewise, I didn't know Gordon and Alisse were lovers until she appeared. As you may be able to tell, Bernard's and Lysette's inn in Montfort is a frequent spot for them. As the canon indicates, Gordon and Alisse were good friends before she took her current position. I think she is the one who taught Gordon how to use short blades, and I think they traveled together ala Warden-style Origins (Alistair and, in my world, Neriana). That was how Alisse met Lysette. They saved her from a darkspawn raid from her family homestead near the coast. All of Lysette's family was killed, and she had no where to go. Lysette knew Bernard in Montfort who inherited his inn from his family. Bernard's grandfather had been a sea pirate and amassed a significant fortune for his family. However, it was still piracy and he was caught and sentenced to death; he took the Grey, but by then he was already married with children. Bernard grew up with stories of his wonderful, worldly, adventurous grandfather who died when Bernard was little, just 4 or so. So Bernard's inn is a safehaven of sorts for any Warden moving through Montfort and a source of information for them; Lysette came to his inn to work, but eventually they fell in love and she became Madame Semeuse.

My husband has asked me what became of Blackwall's daggers? They ended up with the Darkspawn. The first one got thrown over the cliff by Thom's head. As it clattered down the cliff, it was picked up by the Darkspawn and that was actually what ended up cutting Thom's arm (hence, no taint). The other was still on Blackwall's body when they carted it over the cliff side. I actually think he was alive when they took him over the cliff (they had orders to take him "alive"), but I do not believe he survived long. 

* * *

 [Stand Against the Chaos](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6170761/chapters/14138998)

First thing: this started as a flashback scene in Opening Moves; then it got away from me.

Here I wanted to deal with the rather slipshod way the game story just starts the Inquisition. My basis here is the writ from the Divine and the rather apparent "interference" Justinia has been perpetrating on the Circles. Reform was always coming and Justina was the rudder that was driving it. Likewise, Justinia is the one that understands looking at Kinloch, the Blight, Kirkwall, the Orlesian Civil War, the advancement of the Qun, the increased militancy of Tevinter society, she sees that conflict is inevitable. The Inquisition is her response to prepare her fiefdom, her Chantry to go to war. 

But, even beyond that I wanted to explore why Cullen is so invested. He is a remarkably broken man and was sent to Kirkwall to get him out of the way and then that became a shitstorm. He is damaged goods. But the Divine insists he is the one. In my world Cassandra would not have brought him in without the Divine's approval and, if it had been left up to Cassandra, she would never have stopped looking for Hawke and settled on Cullen if she had identified the Champion as filling the need. This is backed up by the closing scene in DA:2 when Leliana says to Cassandra to trust in the Divine and in the Maker. I have her echo that here.

But, it does take them all by surprise when she presents the Inquisition to the three of them. That is because this Divine has much hidden. She is Orlesian through and through and quite adept at the Game. There are more machinations in my head for Justinia. I hope to get to write them.

In the last, I wanted to present Cullen as being pulled along by events. Before we head into the Breach mage recruitment Cullen will need a reason to stay bound to the Inquisition and not just relegate his position to Cassandra. It is the pull of Justinia's expectations that will do that, as it will for others as we see. I wrapped up his sense of obligation to Justinia with his need to atone and his undying devotion to the Maker (Cullen prays first and foremost to the Maker, as does Leliana; Cassandra is an Andrastian and holds up the Bride as her ideal and intercessor). After the Breach is closed and the move to Skyhold, a devotion to the Herald will supplant some of that sense of obligation and duty for him. 

* * *

[The Young Lion](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7292158)

I wrote this in the midst of chapter 8 from This Moment. When Cullen takes the dagger from his waist to cut the apple, I needed to solidify for myself how he came about daggers from Denerim when he has spent the previous 9-10 years in Kirkwall before coming to the Inquisition. Cullen never struck me as the sentimental type and always one to make the best of what is around him (although he obviously appreciates excellence in arms and armor). 

So, enter Cassandra. It seemed like the kind of thing Cassandra would do, but why would she do it? Well, the daggers are because Leliana, Cassandra, and now Cullen, are always armed in the presence of the Divine, even during events where they aren't allowed to be seen to carry them. But they are in Orlais, so why not have an Orlesian smith make them? That brought in the Divine. 

Justinia knew that Cullen's armor was uncomfortable (full plate is Maker-all heavy, after all, and hot) for the long office hours he is keeping with Cassandra and Justinia. So she asks for new armor to be made for him. I liked the idea that Justinia is really invested 1) in making him comfortable and 2) figuring out how to present this 'Templar' to best advantage to set up her Inquisition. The armor becomes a way to transition him into this new thing that they all must be defined by. 

But . . . the Lion helm. *snicker*

That thing is just ostentatious. God bless Bioware for giving us that. So, since my Justinia is already a little flirty with him, it didn't seem a far stretch to have him be her " _lion_ " and I couldn't resist the opportunity to have Cassandra cite Cullen as having a brooding temperament.

The last thing I will point out is Cullen's final phrase, "May the Maker find us whole." This is very deliberate, and I counter it with Cassandra in This Moment when she returns, "May the Maker make us whole." as does Dorothea earlier in the story, "May the Maker shelter you and make you whole." His experiences with Kinloch and Kirkwall to an extent leaves Cullen with a theology that he must be worthy of what the Maker has to offer; he must become a recipient of grace by being worthy of it before he gets it. What Cassandra's theology is (and Dorothea's, if she espoused a theology) is that the grace of the Maker makes us into whole beings. Cullen will eventually accept that he is worthy of grace. But that will eventually bring problems of its own for our narrative.

For anyone unsure, the armor I am thinking of is here: <http://static.cdn.ea.com/blog.bioware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Cullen_kit_Cover.jpg>

 

* * *

[None of Us Has a Choice](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9532631)

I wanted to see two things here:  
The transition of Cassandra out of the fore of the battle at the Conclave and opening a place for Cullen to be the Commander.  
Cassandra kicking ass in battle.

So I got this little story. It was always going to be a Cassandra POV. She headed into the Temple to die, and I do think she went in because the idea that Cassandra Pentaghast could sit on the sidelines while they tried to penetrate the Temple was unbelievable to me.

I like about Cassandra that even in the midst of her grief, her anguish is very compartmentalized. We will eventually see it swamp her, and she will struggle with the loss of it all, but that is not this moment.

There are little touches here that I am most proud of: the map in the Inn with Justinia's notes; Cullen talking through troop organization; the letter to her Uncle in her pack; the echo here that Justinia chose Cullen, just as we will see later that Justinia chose Leliana, and all to complement Cassandra and her skills; Cassandra's ill ease with words; the idea that the Templars at the Temple are there because they are in the throes of their Lyrium additiction; Cassandra using the Chant as a focus technique during battle.  
I struggled with whether or not we would see Cassandra find Dorothea. My husband wanted to know why he doesn't see the woman hand Dorothea out of the rift. I think it is because she is blinded; she doesn't see it because she cannot. This is the start of her losing her Faith Realized (my head canon); throughout the rest of gameplay, she will struggle with that. It will get better after Corypheus is dead and Cassandra renews her purpose with the Chantry. But, for now, she is at the beginning of her spiral of despair.

Oh. and the entire inspiration for this really came from some concept art, [here in all of its loverly glory.](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7q57E9aqCDw/UsgD4Nkw2zI/AAAAAAAAJ64/D_3ddr5Y11k/s1600/Dragon+Age-+Inquisition-n2g-24-SCREENSHOTS.jpg)

* * *

[Birth Pangs](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5917819)

This story worked out for me why the advisers, who had been left with the care of the Inquisition by the Divine, would just turn (pseudo-) control over to an unknown factor like the prisoner. They see her as a means to an end. it's just a short, little bit of exposition.

* * *

[Opening Moves](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6100501/chapters/13983925)

This one is entirely about setting up my head canon and helps to establish some elements about my Inquisitor, Dorothea. As I wrote this, it was the first time we ever encounter her. 

I wanted an interaction with Cullen that helps to reveal the full horror of what Dorothea feels about him as a Templar and his participation at Kirkwall. She doesn't know the full story, but as Cullen implicitly understands, she understands enough to feel disgust and horror.

I also wanted to further establish Leliana's friendship to Cullen so that we can broaden our respect for Cullen and his abilities. This will be necessary as the next time we will see him in my narrative in the buildup to Redcliffe, we will begin to question for a while his ability to do this. Leliana is a known quantity from Origins, and I wanted to capitalize on that to instill respect and authority to Cullen by exhibiting her regard. I do not think I will explore Leliana in great detail as a character, but in my head canon she is hardened and I like to bring in elements off this from time to time.

* * *

[Keeping to Myself for Too Long](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8924209)

This started out as a way for Thom/Blackwall and the Inquisitor to first talk after he joins them in the Hinterlands. But everytime I sat down to write it, it just fizzled. I kept wanting to get to them flirting and this was just not that moment. For my story to make more sense, I needed this relationship to be more of a slow burn, which means neither of them can really know how fascinated the other is about the other one.

I almost ditched this "right after joining" scene, and then I realized I needed to help transition Thom Rainier into Blackwall joining the Inquisition, which meant exploring the wtf *?!*!? moment he has after (because, really, why does he do that?).

The next thing I needed to address for myself is how he foils the Seeker. I can justify him getting around Leliana, but he travels often enough with Cassandra that it doesn't make sense to me how she doesn't notice all of his discrepancies. So two things happening here: he manages to say just the right things (it's a knack for Thom) and we see just how distracted Cassandra is and she is still reeling from the damage at Sacred Ashes.

* * *

[Oddly Charming](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9275600)

I needed a Blackwall/Inquisitor getting together story. At first, I thought it was Keeping To Myself Too Long. But, then Cassandra showed up in that one, so that wasn't it. Then I thought it was Presence and Distance, which sort of works, and let's me show some of Thom's predatory nature. But I still needed groundwork.

Looking back through the game, I was struck with how early the Herald can flirt with Blackwall and he will give as good as he gets. That plays in nicely to my setup that he is a *ladies' man*, and always has been. The man is as smooth as fuck, and prone to the latter. But I was still stuck with the fact that I don't think they consumate this thing (at least in words, if not in actions, too) until they land up at Skyhold, where all the shit is on the line.

I thought it was Thom's POV, too, headed in, but after chapter two, I realized I don't care what he thinks about this hookup. It was much more interesting to me to hear what Dorothea thinks. So I got to play a little bit with her vulnerability, her naivete from coming from a Circle, her air of command as a noble, and her hero worship of the Grey Warden. I use the term "hero" worship very deliberately; I think Dorothea is why Varric settles on the nickname he does for Blackwall.

* * *

 

[Other Paths to Victory](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9215513)

I was very interested in exploring the difficulties Cullen is experiencing with his withdrawal and the lingering feelings he has about the Order. For my Inquisitor, she never gets over her distrust of Cassandra and the interactions she sees between Cass and Cullen are no small part of that. Cassandra is unapologetically bossy (and a fanatic) and Dorothea struggles mightily with that. Left to Dorothea's perspective, we would think the worst of Cassandra. But, Cass is not a bad person. She is rigid, disciplined, and dictatorial, but she cares very deeply for those she takes in as part of her clan. Cullen is part of that for her, and their respect and friendship goes deeply; I credit Cassandra's support as the reason Cullen works through his withdrawal. This is my homage to that part of the relationship.

I was also very intrigued to explore what kinds of information Cullen had about the Templars. I do not think Cullen (or Cassandra for that matter) has to solely rely on the information that Leliana is getting on the Templars (by nature of their Orders, they are somewhat close with this information). I think if the Inquisitor goes to the mages (as mine do every. single. time.), I feel saddened by the idea of what happens to Delrin. There is a fic by [thesecondseal ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/thesecondseal/pseuds/thesecondseal)called [Acts of Reclamation](http://archiveofourown.org/series/309528); in it she works with the Templars post-Breach and I really got intrigued by her Delrin.

Delrin was never going to be someone my Dorothea met; but I wanted to toy with the notion of what happens with him if the Inquisition doesn't bring him "in". He seems like a great character with lots of beautiful potential. 

* * *

[Presence and Distance](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9159619/chapters/20800666)

As Cullen identifies in [On Your Head Be It](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6240199), it is post-Redcliffe when he begins to shift how he thinks about Dorothea and start the process of trusting her judgement. I wanted a piece that highlighted that shift for him, but continued to maintain why Dorothea will not trust him until the turn that eventually start in [Battle Ready](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6379204).

There are lots of little things I like that worked here: how Dorian is not immediately accepted by everyone in Haven; Dorian plays chess better when he is drunk; Varric is just this calming presence in the midst of this shitstorm; Dorothea is so affected by what she saw in the other Redcliffe.

The other distinction I wanted to draw between my head canon and a frequent theme you see in the fandom is that Cullen does not feel the need to protect Dorothea because she is fragile. He understands her limits, recognizes them from a strategy standpoint, and feels a very real sense of human compassion for her. But, at the end of the day, Commander hat will always win out. Hold onto that idea; we're going to visit it again later in a fic post-Trespessar.

Oh, and Thom. What a cagey asshole. This is the groundwork for Cullen's distaste for how Blackwall acts with Dorothea, and that Thom is not so awesome at playing his part. 

* * *

[On Your Head Be It](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6240199/chapters/14297155)

The sticky wicket I was trying to solve here is how to get to making Dorothea the Inquisitor AND why does Cassandra stop showing up at the war council.

Both of these events are given little context or explanation. That being said, it's not a far stretch to why they would happen. Dorothea just faced down Corypheus, and an archdemon dragon, and saved the Inquisition by being the last person on the trebuchet.

We will not dwell on how short-sighted that was ... and we will just go with "heat of battle" as an explanation. Although if I had to make one I cannot imagine one that is more elegant than [Mysdrym's Finley in Chapter 30](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5628031/chapters/15919288).

But, getting back to our storyline, it is reasonable that the advisers would want her to be in a more authoritative position. But what about Cassandra?

In my head cannon Cassandra is who gives birth to the Inquisition; she stands up to be the relentless public face in response to Roderick. But these things come at a price. Cassandra has led a life of relentless service for over 25 years, her life has not been one that was handed to her, but one that she has forged time and time again. However, she always had the same cover of doing it in service of the Chantry. For the first time, she is outside of what sanctuary the Chantry has to offer. She is doing this for the Chantry, true, but not with it. She is outside the law and, one could argue, for the first time truly living into what it means to be a Seeker of Truth. This is hard for her; harder than anything she has ever done.

So, it is the journey to Skyhold, when they are lost in the Frostbacks, that we really see the cracks in her veneer. She is shattered and full of despair. Her ability to be the watcher is what allows her to step back, to see it, and to act on it.

Again, I wanted to solidify the relationship between Cullen, Cassandra, and Leliana, but in particular between the latter two. They will continue to function as two parts of a whole for some time to come: as my Justinia alludes, she gave each of them to the other, they are to be each other's comfort.

It will be some time before Cassandra is all right, and my Dorothea will not help her very much; but eventually she will find a way back to her Chantry, and she in turn will not help Dorothea very much, either. 

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[Battle Ready](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6379204)

This started out as a shameless, "see Cullen in full-on battle training mode". But, that didn't really hold together on its own.

So, then we got it as an opportunity for Dorothea to begin to see the Commander in a different light, as someone capable of supporting her, and not just countering her (as she feels, not entirely fairly). That led to figuring out what happened afterwards. The aftermath of the bet, and Cullen going down, and how Dorothea approaches Cullen afterwards was really exciting, and I loved giving Cole a little cameo moment to explore his ability.

But, then the beginning (the current Chapter 2), was too weak. So I had to ground it in something else, and I got back to Cassandra. When I started this fanfic journey thing, I thought I was most interested in characters like Cullen and Blackwall and my Inquisitor. But, as it keeps turning out, I am really interested in Cassandra. Her struggle as a woman of faith and action is the most remarkable dichotomy. Chapter one does not work superbly well; it is rough. But it has got me to other places in my story both with Cassandra, but also with Giselle and Justinia. I know I will write Cassandra's; I hope to get to write Justinia and Giselle. If I get to do the latter, then I'll swing back around and fix chapter one. For now, it just stands as it is as slightly awkward.

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_More to come :)_


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